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Battleroar's second album (2005).

Battleroar's second album is a vast improvement on the first, and sees the band move from enjoyable heavy metal throwback to serious competitor in the epic metal leagues in the space of two short years. After proving competent and entertaining on the debut album, guitarists Kostas Tzortzis and Manolis Karazeris here unveil their true potential in leading the way with some killer riffs and dual harmonies while the rest of the band fills out the sound with a satisfying heavy metal gallop and even the occasional touch of folk metal that brings this up to date. The only real problem the album suffers for is that the lead guitars hit on such a great sound so early on, that the majority of songs end up following a very similar style.

The folk influence on this album (in an atmospheric, Bathory manner, rather than the jolly polka of Finntroll) is most prominent in the opening and closing songs, the first of which shouldn't really be considered a Battleroar song at all, considering it's written and performed by Manila Road's Mark Shelton. Featuring flutes (or at the very least, a synthesised flute) and soft singing, this is a great introduction that remains consistent for four minutes without feeling the need to jump into a heavy riff as an immediate crowd-pleaser, and the finale 'Dreams on Steel' is comparably grand and mournful. This hardly sounds like the same band at all, but fortunately the folky style is incorporated intelligently into the bulk of the album to keep things consistent, mostly entwined in the lead guitars as demonstrated in the overwhelmingly enjoyable 'Sword of Crom.'

Marco Concoreggi's high singing will still serve to make or break this band to some peoples' ears, and although I found him a little disappointing in the early songs, his classic wail managed to grow on me. Despite the battle lyrics, this isn't daft heavy metal in the style of Manowar - apart from a whip-cracking sound effect being produced on command in 'Vampire Killer' which is about as Manowar as you can get - and there's an excellent sense of composition to all of the songs. 'The Tower of the Elephant' is a slow song that embraces its tempo and follows it through to a natural conclusion without breaking into a gallop half-way through in the manner that spoiled some of Iron Maiden's greatest slowies, and although songs tend to overrun as the album plays on, this doesn't present a problem if you're as engrossed in the sound as I was, though compared to the debut album it seems that around fifteen minutes could have been easily shaved off in a final edit.

All of these songs have something special going for them, whether it's the steady, catchy pace of 'Dyvim Tvar' or the thrashing finale of the grand and appropriately titled 'Calm Before The Storm,' and I'm already far more excited than I should be about the next album from Battleroar that was allegedly recorded at the end of last year. You can't really get more my-kind-of-thing than this.

1. The Wanderer2. Vampire Killer3. Siegecraft4. The Tower of the Elephant5. Deep Buried Faith6. Dyvim Tvar7. Sword Of Crom8. Narsil (Reforge The Sword)9. Calm Before The Storm10. Dreams On Steel